Archives for August 2013

MotSaG TV Guide

College Football is back just in time for a long holiday weekend! You can celebrate the end of your 234-day sports prison sentence by watching games for five straight days (if you agree to lower your standards a little).

Thursday

6:00pm

North Carolina at South Carolina. You would think this game would happen more often than it does, but there is no historical animosity to fuel a good old-fashioned border-war college football rivalry. The colony of Carolina split so amicably in 1712 that it makes Bruce and Demi look like Alec and Kim (I had to Google that entire sentence). UNC is probably good enough to keep things interesting at least until you finish your wings. (ESPN)

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Buckeyes to feast on Buffalo Wings: Preview

When I first started to do this preview I swear this is all I was thinking about…

I am sitting here racking my brain on how to write this preview. We all have a feeling about how it will go. Buffalo is vastly undermanned and will face a team that has been pushed hard all summer and has a lot of pent up aggression. On top of all that Ohio State is in the title game talk and Coach Meyer knows against these weaker teams they must put on a show for the voters so they will forget the fact that OSU is playing Buffalo.

Here is what I what I have discovered in my prep of the game preview.

Buffalo on Offense

Buffalo is lead by Sr. Running Back Branden Oliver a 5’8″ 210 lbs guy from Miami, Florida. Branden is a small scatback guy with tremendous speed. He avg over 100 yards a game last year in 8 games and over 5 yards a carry. His highlight reel is very impressive for a smaller guy he has no problem running between the tackles and taking the hits for the tougher yards.

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MotSaG Look at the Offense

osuHelmetWe’ll have our first preview of the season up shortly, as the Buckeyes prepare for the Buffalo Bulls, but before we get to that, we wanted to review our offensive position previews and how it will all come together on the field.

Offensive Line

The offensive line, for years a blight on Ohio State’s reputation, has come into its own. With Coach Warinner leading the charge, Ohio State’s offensive line has come together to form a cohesive, strong unit that returns everyone but last year’s right tackle.

Corey Linsley (while currently fighting an injury) will start at center, flanked by Marcus Hall and Andrew Norwell. The left side of that line is going to be, as they say, NASTY.

Jack Mewhort will protect Braxton’s blind (and back) side while Taylor Decker handles offensive tackle duties on the right side. Decker is the only newbie on the line and will have to justify his spot in the starting lineup early on. But it will be Mewhort who, as Garth said in his preview, will take on the leadership role of the line:

And what is more, many look at his leadership potential and suggest that the most valuable role he will play is one the veteran inherits–that of team emotional soul after the departure of John Simon from last year’s edition.

To quote Garth again, “Nothing in 2013 will be as beautiful to watch as Ohio State’s big uglies.”

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5 Things I think: Going into week 1!

The college football season is finally here! The final BCS season is upon us and we start it off with three televised games Thursday night that include two players that will get some Hiesman hype (JaDaveon Clowney & Marqise Lee), the top recruit from the class of 2013 (Robert Nkemdiche), and the arguably the best receiver in the SEC (Jordan Matthews). We finish the first week of games (a stretch of five straight days of college football) with a game that will highlight the next redshirt freshman phenom in the nation in Jameis Winston of Florida State on Monday night. There are several top-ranked teams playing in games that have no reason to be competitive while there are several games on the docket that could potentially hurt national title runs. We won’t get to see Heisman Trophy winner Johnny “Football” Manziel until the second half … of the Rice game … because of his violation of the spirit of a bylaw. I’m just glad we’ll finally get to talk about something this kid does on the field rather than on Twitter or at a frat party. Over thirty teams will break in a new head coach, including the return of the polarizing Bobby Petrino (Western Kentucky) who faces off against first-time head coach Mark Stoops (Kentucky). There are two teams (Oregon & Wisconsin) with first-year head coaches and three teams (Ohio State, Texas A&M, & UCLA) with head coaches in their second year that are ranked in the AP Top 25. All that being said, let’s go ahead and dive into some games!

1. North Carolina at #6 South Carolina (5pm CST Thursday on ESPN): I’d like to start by saying I hate that we’re starting the 2013 season without Marcus Lattimore on South Carolina’s roster. I was hoping he’d take a medical redshirt so we could see him play in the first season with the playoff system. However, it was a great gamble by 49ers GM Trent Baalke taking Lattimore in the fourth round of April’s NFL Draft and one I think will pay off as early as the 2014 season. JaDaveon Clowney, who we haven’t seen since he made the hit of the season on Michigan running back Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl, takes the field tonight amid preseason Heisman hype. He faces off against a Tar Heels team that is now eligible for postseason play and is led by an underrated quarterback named Bryn Renner. He’ll need some help from his secondary because Renner will certainly test them as long as he’s upright. UNC head coach Larry Fedora is in his second season and I expect his team to make a run at the ACC title (they would have won the Coastal Division last season if they had been eligible). Steve Spurrier has named sophomore Mike Davis as the starter at running back and I liked what he did in spot service behind Lattimore and Kenny Miles last season. This game will be more competitive than most people seem to think it will be, but remember that South Carolina didn’t start the season off strongly last season either as they struggled in a win against Vanderbilt. North Carolina will be a good team. The Gamecocks will leave the field winners, but I don’t see them winning big.

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Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

Good morning Buckeye Nation.

Basketball Schedule: The Ohio State men’s basketball team has unveiled the 2013-2014 regular season schedule. The pre-conference schedule has the Buckeyes playing Marquette (not on a ship so shouldn’t be canceled), Maryland, and Notre Dame. The Big Ten promises to be another grueling ride with so much strong teams and talent.

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Urban Meyer Interview *Video*

Urban Meyer addressed the media today after practice to discuss several issues including Tommy Schutt’s injury and Chase Farris move back to DT from OL…

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Urban Meyer: A Lesson in Self-Accountability

5.5 players per year. No, that isn’t the number of players Coach Meyer puts in to the NFL on average; or how many 5 star recruits he brings in per year. That number represents the average number of players arrested under Coach Meyer, during his time at Florida from 2005-2010. 31 players over six years. Those crimes included stealing computers and credit cards, assault, and illegal drug use. While some of those crimes were just college kids being stupid, others, such as domestic violence, really put a stain on Meyer. Meyer was not the first, nor the last, to have disciplinary issues with his team, but the high-profile Meyer carries has made him a target of criticism, in the past year to year and a half. However, Meyer certainly had good reason for his approach of trying to rehab players, instead of trying to bring the hammer down on them.

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The Spread, Week 1: Don’t Stop Believin’

College football season. It’s the Sopranos to the off-season’s Jersey Shore. Now, finally, you can forget about autographs, tattoos, and dead fake internet girlfriends. Yes, these things will have an impact on the games we watch, but when the ball goes over, the only thing that matters is 57,600 square feet of grass (or, more likely, sand and rubber and polyethylene fiber).

Each year, for a few months in the autumn and winter, we are lucky enough to have seats at another performance of the world’s greatest dramatic masterpiece. Unscripted, improvised, the whole of a college football season is unpredictable, unknowable until it plays out in front of us. This is a nice little piece of irony from the universe, as the sport is built on the hard work of coaches and players who spend countless (or rather, strictly counted) hours attempting to know, predict, and script success for their teams.

For our teams.

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MotSaG Roundtable: Prediction for the 2013 Buckeyes (with poll)

I asked the writers to put on their wizard hats and look into their crystal balls and predict how many wins the Buckeye Football Team would win this season. I also asked them to explain their reasoning. Here are some of the responses:

Jason: 14.

It’s not that I think our schedule a cakewalk; it’s just that I can’t look at it and convince myself that there’s a loss in there. Sure, road games against Northwestern and Michigan (and a potential B1G championship vs. Nebraska) are concerning, but I’m not going to *worry* about them until I actually see those teams play some games.

Last year’s team went undefeated and was almost certainly the *least* talented team Urban Meyer will ever coach at OSU. At times, they dominated opponents, both good and bad. They found themselves in close games against teams that had no business there and teams that should have won. They had some luck and they made some luck. And until another team finds a way to beat them, I’m not going to assume it’s going to happen.

Josh: 14
I’m pretty confident in the Buckeyes to pull of an undefeated season. In fact I’m almost expecting it. And I only need two words to tell you why I’m so confident: Urban Meyer. Look at his track record in his second seasons at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. The records speak for themselves. Add in the fact that Braxton Miller has a year under his belt in the Meyer system, surrounded by a lot of potentially dangerous weapons and you should be brimming with confidence.

However, college football is arguable the most unpredictable sport out there and the Buckeyes could easily cough up a loss one weekend. The games to watch out for are Cal, Northwestern and of course that pesky team up north. It will all come down to how fast the younger Buckeyes can grow up and contribute to this team, namely Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington. I expect (and hope) the Buckeyes will be playing in Pasadena for all of the marbles against the SEC champion, where they finally get an opportunity to end the SEC’s reign of terror upon college football.

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Ohio State Looks To Run With, Then By, The Bulls In 2013 Opener

Trying to forecast a final score, or what will happen decisively in game one of the college football season, is an exercise of confidence that I do not possess. There are so many factors involved, especially against an unfamiliar opponent as the University of Buffalo Bulls, that it would be easy for someone to read this blog post after the game and say, “What was he thinking?!?”.

Here are some things I will look for in the 2013 season opener versus Buffalo ~

  • Ohio State’s rushing attack: During the 2012 season, QB Braxton Miller ran far more frequently than I preferred, and I surmise Coach Urban Meyer preferred. With a deep arsenal of running backs (Jordan Hall, Bri’onte Dunn, Warren Ball, Ezekiel Elliott), as well as hybrid players such as Dontre Wilson, I wonder how Ohio State will be able to involve as many of these players versus Buffalo.
  • Ohio State’s front seven defensively: Replacing the entire defensive line, as well as two linebackers, will be of concern to me, as the lack of experience can only strengthen throughout the season. How effective Ohio State is able to shut down Buffalo’s running game, as well as pressure the passer, will be areas watched in the season opener.
  • How many freshmen or newcomers will play for Ohio State: Coach Meyer has stated players such as Wilson, Elliott, defensive linemen Michael Hill and Joey Bosa, and new punter Cameron Johnston will all play versus Buffalo. Will there be others? If so, who, and how much will these players play?
  • The maturation of Ohio State’s passing game: Miller has supposedly improved from 2012, according to reports from Ohio State’s coaching staff. Will Miller’s mechanics be on display versus against Buffalo? Will Miller demonstrate the ability to find secondary options, versus just taking off with his legs? Conversely, will Miller demonstrate his maturity of not forcing passes into covered areas, while making positive yardage if all other options have been closed off?
  • How many backups will play: My rationale in this thought is how critical it is for any team to develop battle-tested depth throughout the team. As soon as Ohio State has developed a strong lead, I would hope to see backups along the offensive line, as Ohio State will lose four of its five starters for the 2014 season. How about playing backup quarterback Kenny Guiton, in the event Miller is injured at some other point in the 2013 season? How about playing Cardale Jones, the second backup quarterback, to get Jones some valuable playing experience?

Ohio State is heavily favored, and should win this game easily. While winning is always the primary objective, other goals should always be pursued to help develop Ohio State into a true national championship contender.